Corbyn Long, 4, slides on the new playground Wednesday at Western View Park in Chillicothe. Corbyn was one of the first children to play on the new equipment after Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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A new playground at Western View Park on North Bowman Road officially opened to the public Wednesday morning, and that might be just the beginning of improvements for the park, which eventually could include shelters and a basketball court.

Safety Service Director Mike Green gave much of the credit to former parks and recreation director Cathy Primer for getting the $22,000 grant-funded project started. Primer, who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, was one of six people laid off because of budget cuts implemented by the city.